Ethiopian Air Co-Pilot Hijacks Own Plane Seeking Asylum

Flight ET-702 landed in Geneva 6:02 a.m., two hours after air traffic control were told by the cockpit that the aircraft sought to land in the Swiss city to refuel. Photographer: Pierre Taillefer/AFP/Getty Images

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- An Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise
aircraft flying to Rome was hijacked by the co-pilot and made a
forced landing in Geneva, where police arrested the man before
freeing all passengers and remaining crew.

The Boeing Co. 767 wide-body jet carrying 202 passengers
touched down shortly after 6 a.m. at Geneva’s Cointrin airport,
which was temporarily closed. The unarmed co-pilot had taken
charge of the cockpit while the captain was in the bathroom, and
the Ethiopian native sought asylum in Switzerland.

“His act was motivated by the fact that he says he felt
threatened in Ethiopia and wanted to ask for asylum in
Switzerland,” said Eric Grandjean, a spokesman for the Geneva
police. “The 202 passengers and crew members at no point had
been threatened or put in danger.”

Flight ET-702 from Addis Ababa landed two hours after air
traffic control were told by the cockpit that the aircraft
sought to land in the Swiss city to refuel. The co-pilot, born
in 1983, had locked himself in the cockpit after taking over,
and left the aircraft through a window via a rope stored in the
cockpit before turning himself in to police, authorities said.

Hijacking Signal

Hijackings involving pilots or co-pilots are extremely
rare, said Paul Hayes, head of safety at London-based aviation
consultant Ascend. In one instance in 1998, an Air China Ltd.
pilot diverted his Boeing 737 to Taiwan. Swiss authorities said
they will press charges against the Ethiopian co-pilot, who may
face as much as 20 years in jail.

Ethiopian Air is Africa’s second-largest carrier and has
embarked on a modernization under Chief Executive Officer
Tewolde GebreMariam, including the purchase of Boeing 787
Dreamliners and the order of 14 A350s, as well as a more
extensive network that stretches as far as China.

Ethiopian Communications Minister Redwan Hussein identified
the hijacker as Hailemedehin Abera Tagegn. The 31-year-old pilot
has been with Ethiopian Airlines for the past five years,
Redwan told reporters today in Addis Ababa.

The Sudanese civil aviation authorities informed Egypt’s
air control center that the Boeing 767 was heading from Addis to
Rome. On its way through the Egyptian airspace the Ethiopian
carrier flashed a hijacking code, Ehab Mohi, chairman of the
Egyptian airports authority, said in an e-mailed statement.

Audio Message

The Swiss aviation office has set up a crisis-management
group, said spokesman Urs Holderegger. Two Eurofighter aircraft
of Italian origin escorted the aircraft to the airport. Swiss
fighter jets weren’t deployed as the incident occurred outside
normal office hours, the Swiss Air Force said.

Passengers, who were searched twice before leaving the
aircraft as part of a routine safety measure, will be flown to
their intended destinations, the airline said. Many were unaware
that the flight destination had changed, Swiss authorities said.
The flight distance between Geneva and Rome is less than two
hours. The hijacker said he acted alone.

The hijacker, in a purported audio recording of his
conversation with air traffic control posted online that could
not immediately be verified, said he was seeking assurances
asylum would be granted.

Airport screens in Geneva were calling most flights
canceled, and the airport resumed service at about 8:45 a.m.
local time. Passengers already there were lining up to get
information, while some staff members were checking in luggage.
Operations have since returned to normal, the airport said.

The incident follows a hijacking attempt last week on a
Turkish Pegasus Airlines flight, whereby a man had sought to
divert the aircraft to Sochi, the Russian venue of the Winter
Olympics. The airliner landed at its planned destination at
Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport, where the man was detained and
all passengers and crew freed.